Adjustable chair



3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TORS CHHQLES 6U. MORE/S LEO/V920 7. KENT BY RTTGQNEYS C. W. MORRIS ET AL ADJUSTABLE CHAIR Feb. 17, 1953 Filed March 20, 1947 Feb. 17, 1953 v C W. MORRISVET L 2,628,662

ADJUSTABLE CHAIR Filed March 20, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS CHRELES 0/. MORE/S LEON/72D F7- KENT Patented Feb. 17, 1953 ADJUSTABLE CHAIR Charles William Morris, Los Angeles, and Leonard A..Ke'nt, Redondo Beach, Ca'lif'.; said Kent assignor to Doak Aircraft Company-,Incorporatecl, Torrance, Calif; a corporation of California Application March20, 1947,,SerialNo. 736,052.

4 Claims.

This invention. relates to improvements ..ln..re-.

clining chairs and has been primarily designed for .use on airplanes, busses, passenger coaches,

and similar travel conveyances, although it. may

be used wherever a chair capable of .assuming a reclining position is desired.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved chair having a seat which is tiltably supported adjacent its forward end and which has a back rest which is tiltably mounted formovement relatively to the seat as the seat is tilted rearwardly. More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a chair constructionwherein the backrest, instead ofbeing'merely hinged to the rear end of the seat; is so mounted that it will tilt relatively to the seat as the seat inclines rearwardly in such a manner-as to be of greater comfort to the user in the course of. and after having made desirable. adjustments.

Another object of the invention is to provide animproved chair having a seat and :.back rest tiltably mounted on a suitable support and which.

employs a novel mechanismfor enabling adjustments to be made and which will facilitate the return of the chair toits normal or upright position.

Another object of the invention is toiprovide an improved reclining chair which is so cons.

structed that when the chair/is unloaded orthe passenger has gotten up therefrom the chair will automatically return to its normal i or upright position; In many public conveyances adjustable chairs have heretofore been provided which may assume either an upright position or a reclining position. However, if the passenger gets'up-fromthechair while it is in a reclining position the chair will remain therein 'so'th'at at frequent intervals a porter, stewardess-or'otherattendant must restore the chair to its upright positioninorder that the conveyance may "have a suitably presentable appearance: With the improved chair, inasmuch as the chair will automatically return to its normal or upright position whenever Another object is to construct a reclining-chair. wh'ereinthe seat and backrest. pivots are :so ar-:-

ranged that the lengthening or shortening of the lineardistance from the front of the seat to the backand up'the back during operation of the chair is minimized;

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiinent of the invention, wherein:

Figure l is a View in side elevation of the im proved chair illustrating inbroken lines the position that the chair may assume;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a pair of chairs arranged in side by side relationship, one of which is illustrated'in side elevation in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the locking and controlling mechanism which controls the adjustment of .the improved chair;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 4-4 upon Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a partial view illustrating a detail of construction.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar. parts throughout, the, improved chair is short forward arms 53 which extend upwardly and forwardly therefrom and longer rear arms 14 'whichextend upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. Castings or stampings 15 are pivotally connected to the forward arms l3 as indicated at It These castings or stampings have their lower ends connected to each other by a transversely extending tube 3? so as to cause them to move inunisonabout their respective pivots it. This tube constitutes a forward support for the seat bottomindicated at It that is preferably, but.

notnecessarily, formed of sheet metal that may be stiffened or reinforced by a stiffening member 19. Theupper ends of the stampings or castings l5 may be rigidly secured to sides or arm rests 2!! so that these arm rests will tilt rearwardly along with the seat bottom 18 .as a unitary struc ture when the seat is tilted about the axis of the pivots I6. A back rest 2| is provided which is preferably formed mainly of sheet metal and which is transversely curved or shaped as indicated in Fig. 2. At the lower ends of the sides of the back rest there are reinforcing members 22 which are connected together by a transversely extending tube 23 so that these reinforcing members will be rigidly connected and will move in unison. These reinforcing members have downwardly and forwardly extending portions 24 that are pivotally connected as at 25 to the upwardly and rearwardly extending arms l4. These pivots are arranged somewhat forwardly of the back rest and forwardly of the rear end of the seat bottom 3 and are intended to be generally located in the neighborhood of bending at the passengers hips. The reinforcing member 22 have links 26 pivotally connected thereto at 21 and these links extend downwardly and forwardly to brackets 28 that may be rigidly secured to the arm rests and which are connected to each other by a transversely extending tube 29 that is disposed beneath the seat bottom I 8. The downward and forward ends of the links 26 are pivotally connected to the brackets 28 and consequently to the tube 29 as indicated at 30. The seat bottom I 8 and the tube 29 are equipped adjacent the center thereof with a fitting 3| which, in turn, is connected by a pivotal connection 32 to a compressible locking unit generally indicated at 33 which, in turn, is connected pivotally as at 34 to the torque tube II].

In tilting the chair from the full line position shown in Fig. l to the dotted line position, the seat bottom l8 and its associated arm rests tilt downwardly and rearwardly about the axis of the pivots l6. During such tilting movement the back rest 2| swings downwardly and rearwardly about the pivots as centers and during such movement the links 26 move downwardly and forwardly a short distance compressing or shortening the compressible locking unit 33. It will thus be appreciated that during the tilting of the seat the back rest swings downwardly and rearwardly relatively to the seat itself but instead of being merely hinged to the rear end of the seat bottom it swings about a stationary pivot 25 that is disposed somewhat forwardly of the back rest. In order to accommodate this swinging movement of the back rest relatively to the seat bottom the rear end of the seat bottom is transversely corrugated as indicated at 35 so that it will be transversely stiffened but quite flexible in a longitudinal direction and the extreme rear end indicated at 36 is brought upwardly over the forward side of the tube 23 and anchored thereto. When the seat is returned from the dotted line position or the reclining position, illustrated in Fig. 1, to the upright or normal position, the back rest will swing upwardly and forwardly about the pivots 25 as the center and the seat will return to its normal or substantially horizontal position about the pivots l6 as centers. During this movement the compressible locking unit 33 has its overall length increased accommodating the required movements of the links 26. It will be understood that the seat bottom l8 and the back rest 2| are suitably cushioned or upholstered in any conventional or preferred manner and the tops of the arm rests may be similarly cushioned or upholstered.

A feature of the invention resides in the construction of the compressible locking unit 33, the details of which are illustrated in Fig. 3. The pivotal connection at 34 is provided by a knuckle 31 that is threaded into a hollow piston rod 38 for purposes of adjustment. This piston rod has a piston 33 that is reciprocable within a hydraulic cylinder 48. Piston 39 is equipped with 0 rings or other sealing rings and if any leakage should take place past these rings it is effectively absorbed and stopped by absorbent packing 4| around the piston rod which is retained in position by plates 42 and split rings 43. The pivotal connection at 32 is provided by a knuckle 44 on a valve 45 that is adapted to seat on a seat 46 in a port 41 in the opposite end of the cylinder 40. This valve carries an O or sealing ring 48 backed up by absorbent packing 43a and is disposed within a cylinder 49 so that in effect the valve together with its sealing rings forms a small piston on the valve having a very short stroke. The length of stroke of the valve 45 and its piston formed by the sealing rings 48 need be only a very short distance and is limited by an expansion split ring 50 that is seated in a groove in the outer end of the cylinder 48. The valve 45 controls the flow of liquid through a by-pass 5| that establishes communication between the hydraulic cylinder 48 and a surrounding cylinder 52 which hereinafter will be referred to as a combined hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder. This cylinder may be formed in any suitable manner although I prefer to provide it by slipping an outer sleeve 53 onto the enlargement 54 on the cylinder 49 and then position a head 55 therein which is locked in place by means of a contracting split ring 56 seated in a groove on the forward end of the casting that provides the cylinder 40. Suitable packing rings 5'! prevent leakage from this outer combined hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder.

A bore or passage 58 leads from the cylinder 40 to a transversely extending bore 59 that is formed in the enlargement 54. This transversely extending passage provides a valve seat for a needle valve 60 that is urged into seating position by means of a compression spring 6| that is compressed between the head of the valve and packing 62 arranged around the valve stem 63 and retained in place by means of an expansion split ring 54 seated in a groove in the end of the transverse passage. This needle valve will consequently control the flow of liquid through the bore 58 and passage 59 to an outer bore 05 that communicates with the outer or combined hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder 52 so that when the valve 69 is open piston 39 may expel liquid from the hydraulic cylinder 40 through bore 58, passage 53 and bore 65 into the combined hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder 52. Also, when the valve is open, fluid may flow in the reverse direction through these passages.

In the outer cylinder 52 there is a floating diaphragm or piston 66, the skirt of which, indicated at E1, slides on the exterior of the casting that provides the hydraulic cylinder 40. This floating piston or diaphragm merely serves to separate the liquid forced into the outer cylinder from air that is in the forward end thereof. This air may be compressed by the floating piston 65 and expelled from the combined hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder 52 through an outlet 68 that is connected to an air chamber 69 by means of a flexible hose 10. The air chamber 59 is located within the torque tube l6, suitable bulkheads H defining its extremities. If two chairs embodying the present invention are arranged in side-byside relationship as illustrated in Fig. 2, a single air chamber 69 within the torque tube I0 may serve for both chairs and, as illustrated, the left i hand chairas viewed in Fig... 1 mayhaveits come pressible locking unit? connected-to the same air chamber -69 such as; by the flexible hose 18a; Any suitable type-of fitting "52 may be provided onthetorquetubeito enable air. under pressure to be initially supplied'to the'air chamber-69:01am replenish theair therein if leakage should'occur:

Innthertopof :the enlargement 54 there 'is .a-. bleeding passage J3 that isnormally. closed by; as plug J4 for bleeding air from. the hydraulic.

cylinder when this cylinder is'initiallyfilled with-liquid lsuchas oil. A- similar passagethat-sis normally closed-by a plug '16 may; be utilized for fillingithe hydraulic end-of-the com binedhydraulic and pneumatic cylinder 52 and the hydraulic cylinder while the air .is beingexpelledthrough the bleeding passage 1 3. Thus, with oil orother liquid filling the hydraulic.- cylinder 40-. and'the outer cylinder. 52tothe rightof the piston- .E6,;.anincompressible medium isimtheunit between pistons-.69 and 66 -where* as-a compressible gas, such as air, is between.

the .piston St and the air chamber .69.

The needle valve 60 has its stem63 connected to an: operating wire 11 that is slidably v disposed.

in-1a-housing 18.:- fhis operatingwire is. connectedto a lever l9 that is pivoted as at 86 adjacent the .forward end of one of the arm rests. A push button-8i is slidably' mounted in this arm rest and is urged into its forwardmost position by a compressionspring 82.. This push buttonhas a pin and slot connection with the lever 19 so that whenthe push button is .depressed or pressed-rearwardlyit swings the-lever 19in; a. counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5,pul1ing on. the 'wire 11 andiconsequently.

opening the valve 6! .againsttheaction of its compression spring {it On release of the push button 8! its compression spring returnsthe push. button ..to itsnforwardmost. position and .y

back against the back rest may also urge the backrest to swing rearwardlyaboutthe pivots 25.

There is, consequently, a force that is effective in adownward and forward directionon the pivot 32 which is effective to keep the valve seatedon its seat. .46; This force that 'is thusefiectiveon the unit .33 tends to compress the unit or, in other. words; to move the pivots 32'. and 34- toward eachiothen Such movement is resisted by the incompressible liquid in the hydraulic cylinder 40 as long as the needle valve 60 remains closed,

entrappi ng the incompressible-soil in thehy drauliccylinder. If the passenger desires. to tilt the chair rearwardly, he merely depresses the button 8| which, as above explained, opens the needle valve 63. oil from the hydraulic cylinder 40 through the bore 58, the transverse passage 59, and the bore 55 to the outer cylinder 52 in the space to the right of the piston 65. The oil that is thus forced from the hydraulic cylinder 40 into the outer cylinder 52 causes the piston 66 to move from right to left as viewed in Fig. 3, compressing the air in the cylinder 52 to the left of piston 66 and expelling some of it through the outlet 68, hose 10, into the air chamber 69. This air that is thus compressed is retained in its compressed condition and functions as a This permits of egress of' 6? pneumatic; 'gspringzy urging; the ;.-piston:. 66 from; left:-.to;,right .and thus urging: the :chair :to. re; turn.;.toa.its normal or .;upright.-position.; When; the passenger ;.has .-caused .the. chair ;to. assumethe desired adjusted positionor the? desired degree of rearward tilt; the; mere releasesof the push button8l permits. the needle -valve 60 to 1 close,:thus.1entrapplng the remaining. oil inathe; hydraulic-cylinder Land, as thisxoil is'relae,

tively;incompressible; the .chair is locked against any :furtherrearward tilt; When the passenger: desires to return-.thevchair to its, normal or: upright position, it is .merelynecessaryforghim. to depress thetbutton .8l and to shift hispweight forwardly while the button is depressed; The: compressed air-may thengbe effective ..to::shift the piston .66 from left to right, returning; ;oil. from the combined pneumatic 11811141., hydraulic cylinder 52 through the passage orwbore:.65;thez passage 59, and bore 58, to the hydraulic..-cy1- inderrML; On :returning; the 1 chair "to: normal position, release of..the.: button 8l allows '1 the; valve to-;close,entrappinggthe. oil. in;.the.:hydraulic vcylinder-i and: thus locking ,the .chair in; thegnormal orupright position.

If the :pastengen: has had.v the 'chair' in: its. rearwardlytilted or inclined position and'arises. therefrom: the chair. willzlautomatically L return toi-itsupright or normal position. It willube: noted :that the -.piston formed by the sealing; ring .:48= is .at: allltimes: subject :to vthe pressure of. the: oil. that is in the. cylinder: 52 to, theright-x. ofu-pistonwfifi. Thisipressure; together with: the .1 pressure within; the hydraulic cylinder 49 which .1

is. [effective :on; the face of--the-- valve r 45, trees.

the valve1-to open.- However, when .the :chair; isloaded withhtherweight of. the -passenger,.-. the; effect. !of 13118565: pressures is insufficient. to. open 1 the .valve againstthe force-of ,theloadr, However, .whenithe chair is unloaded by the passenger. arising therefrom; the .1 pressures eif.ectiv.e. am. the valve 45 and its associated piston are -suf fieientstorcause :this valve to opentand thus openthe by-pass passage 5 I. from. the. right hand end .of cylinder 52' back tothe hydraulic.,.cyl-. indeiw tili; when thisibyrpass passage iswsthusz opened the 1 compressed :air. in the cylinder 52 4 to the left of piston; 55 -..-is.. effective, to return... oil. .from the cylinder ;52 iback. to the hydraulic cylinder 4! through. the-by.p ass passage even..-

through the needle valve tO remains: closed.

Consequently; ,when. the passenger arises: from. the chair: while :it. is in .rearwardly tilted position, the-.unloadingof the chair causes the mecha-w nismxto' automatically; return;;the.. chair-.zto .:its

normal .1 or; upright position... In: this .1 way the. chairxwill. The 2 in: an-,:.upright position; for a 'zsub-i: sequent .i passengers. and; it. :is .aunnecessary fort-as. steward .or'istewardesswtoz return theschairs .to

the. upright. position after passengers have' arisen therefrom while they were in a reclining position.

Although two or more chairs may have their hoses 10 and 10a connected to the same air 1- chamber, the fact that all of the chairs may be simultaneously in reclining position is immaterial in that this merely increases the pressure of the air within the air chamber that is used as a form of pneumatic spring that urges the chairs into upright position.

A feature of the improved chair resides in the manner in which the back rest tilts with relation to the seat. If the back rest were to be merely hinged to the rear end of the seat it would be observed that on reclining the chair that there would be an increase in the linear distance over the cushions between the forward end of the seat to the back of the seat and up the back rest. In such a construction if the passenger should remain seated with his back pressed against the cushions on the back rest the coat or blouse would be pulled upwardly on reclining the chair. However, with the pivots between the back rest and the seat arranged as herein disclosed the change in this linear distance is reduced to a minimum so that the passenger may remain seated with his back engaging the back rest and during the reclining movement the lifting of the coat or blouse does not take place to any noticeable or objectionable extent.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A chair having a supporting means, a seat tiltably mounted adjacent its forward end on the supporting means for tilting movement relatively thereto, a back rest, means pivotally supporting the back rest on the supporting means for tilting movement relatively thereto about a point adjacent the rear end of the seat, means providing an extensible brace between the supporting means and the rear of the seat, said extensible brace being ivotally connected to the supporting means and to the rear of the seat respectively, and linkage pivotally connected to the extensible brace and to the back rest at a point spaced from the pivotal connection between the back rest and the supporting means whereby on lengthening or shortening the extensible brace the seat may be tilted relatively to the supporting means and support objects on the seat in any adjusted position and in the course of adjustment of the seat the back rest will have its inclination relatively to the seat automatically varied.

2. A chair having a supporting means, a seat tiltably mounted adjacent its forward end on the supporting means, a back rest pivotally mounted upon the supporting means adjacent the rear of the seat, means including a hydraulic piston and cylinder providing an extensible brace pivotally connected to the supporting means and the rear of the seat, and linkage pivotally connecting the extensible brace and the back rest at a point spaced from the pivotal connection between the back rest and the supporting means whereby on extending or shortening the extensible brace the inclination of the seat may be varied and as the seat is tilted rearwardly the back rest will be automatically caused to assume a greater inclination with respect to the seat.

3. A chair having a supporting means, a seat tiltably mounted adjacent its forward end on the supporting means, a back rest vpivotally mounted upon the supporting means adjacent the rear of the seat, means including a hydraulic piston and cylinder providing an extensible brace pivotally connected to the supporting means and the rear of the seat, linkage pivotally connecting the extensible brace and the back rest at a point spaced from the pivotal connection between the back rest and the supporting means whereby on extending or shortening the extensible brace the inclination of the seat may be varied and as the seat is tilted rearwardly the back rest will be automatically caused to assume a greater inclination with respect to the seat, and means for controlling the fiow of liquid to and from the hydraulic cylinder.

4. A chair having a supporting means, a seat tiltably mounted adjacent its forward end on the supporting means, a back rest pivotally mounted upon the supporting means adjacent the rear of the seat, means including a hydraulic piston and cylinder providing an extensible brace pivotally connected to the supporting means and the rear of the seat, linkage pivotally connecting the extensible brace and the back rest at a point spaced from the pivotal connection between the back rest and the supporting means whereby on extending or shortening the extensible brace the inclination of the seat may be varied and as the seat is tilted rearwardly the back rest will be automatically caused to assume a greater inclination with respect to the seat, and means for controlling the flow of liquid to and from the hydraulic cylinder including a valve connected to the seat and urged thereby to close a port of egress from the cylinder when the seat is loaded but enabling fluid to pass into the cylinder when the seat is unloaded to restore the seat to its normal position.

CHARLES WILLIAM MORRIS. LEONARD A. KENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,212,808 Pepper Jan. 16, 1917 2,132,353 Thomas et al. Oct. 4, 1938 2,233,225 Romey Feb. 25, 1941 2,244,274 Walden June 3, 1941 2,321,385 Herold June 8, 1943 2,400,705 Morey et al. May 21, 1946 2,429,633 Lorenz Oct. 28, 1947 2,522,246 Armstrong Sept. 12, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 674,930 France Feb. 4, 1930 

